SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Writing for SBC, Dotan Lazar, CEO of LSports, takes a look at why sports data has become the new battleground for sportsbooks looking to stand out in a saturated market and the role that LSports plays in building that engagement with bettors through its latest promising innovation.
The reality that sportsbooks face today is challenging, to say the least. The demand for accurate, real-time data from sports bettors is on the rise and shows no signs of slowing down. This surge is fuelled by the younger generation’s affection for advanced analytics and the multitude of betting markets operators offer, which require users to make informed, on-the-fly decisions.
However, as sportsbooks strive to accommodate the data needs of these bettors, they find themselves engaged in a two-front battle within the highly competitive sports betting industry. First and foremost is the astronomical cost of acquiring new clients. Currently, only 20-30% of the traffic obtained by sportsbooks actually consists of individuals who place bets.
Given that the average cost of acquiring a single customer in the industry is estimated to be around $300, and can peak at an astonishing $3,500 in the US market, sportsbooks must prioritise user retention as their primary objective. Minimising user churn and fostering engagement becomes paramount to maintaining a profitable and stable customer base.
Secondly, sportsbooks must navigate a market dominated by significant mergers and acquisitions. The partnership between 10Bet and Playtech, the acquisition of Betfirst by Betsson, and the fierce bidding war between Fanatics and DraftKings for the acquisition of PointsBet are not merely seismic industry moves; they also reshape the industry’s landscape.
Like other industries, consolidation can lead to homogeneity, a diminished openness to innovation, and an environment where operators struggle to differentiate themselves. For some, the inability to stand out in the crowd may result in a gradual but inevitable fade out.
To achieve this objective, the value of creating a unique offering for your website becomes immense. Nearly every established bookie now offers various tools to keep customers engaged. Some common examples include visualisation tools, sports tip assistance, real-time stats, live trackers, and betting widgets. While these tools have an impact, they cannot be considered game-changers, mainly because they have become so widespread. This is why sportsbooks and data providers are already working on the next generation of difference-makers in line with today’s technological trends.
One of these promising innovations is LSports’ SEC (Sports Expert Chat), a chatbot-based sports data hub that utilises similar technology to ChatGPT, acting as a real-time engagement tool.
SEC effectively serves as both a sports commentator and a personal adviser for sports bettors. It processes bookies’ odds and lines and provides users with data-driven recommendations on whether a particular bet is worth taking. It uses AI to predict outcomes while also explaining the reasoning behind its decisions, which is fascinating.
SEC’s real-time insights feed is connected to users’ bet slips and serves as a reliable data source, providing them with breaking news, various statistics, and even live weather updates. In addition, LSports’ BetBooster is seamlessly integrated into SEC, leveraging AI-based algorithms to offer personalised betting tips. These tips are generated based on historical data, covering the entire user betting cycle from research and consideration to placing bets. SEC’s feed is fully customisable to cater to the bettors’ preferred games and matches, ensuring they receive relevant information without unnecessary clutter.
With SEC, LSports aims to enhance the betting experience while aiding sportsbooks in increasing user engagement and retention. Our goal with SEC is to reduce sportsbooks’ CAC by 50% and convert more free users into active customers. SEC will provide bettors with the confidence they rightfully seek, leading to increased operator turnover rates. Since announcing its availability for pre-launch, we have witnessed significant traction and excitement about it in the market.
SEC highlights LSports’ long-term product vision, which beyond the company’s hardcore B2B offering, includes a set of cutting-edge and fully personalised engagement and retention tools.
The way I analyse the market today, sportsbooks that don’t adapt to the technological reality and overlook the users’ growing demand for advanced data solutions will soon be left out of the game. I encourage operators to seize this opportunity and embrace innovation before it’s too late.
